Breaking Britain (Completed)

Chapter 54

54
Sunday 6th January 2030
04:00

Tillia had awoken again, the crying sounded louder in the silent night. Samantha had heard her, shuffled herself to a seated position on the sofa, when the crying ceased. As she was up, she decided to look in on her. She opened her bedroom door, careful not to wake Keshi or Abha. Keshi was still in bed, Abha was walking back and forth across the carpet with Tillia wrapped in her blanket, leaning her head on her shoulder.

'Thanks. She okay?'

'Yes', she whispered, 'can we talk?'

'Sure'

Samantha opened the door for Abha to walk out of with the baby in her arms. Abha sat on the sofa next to the pillow Samantha was using.

'What are you going to do about her?'

'What? The baby?'

'Yes. She can't stay with you. I could hear your neighbor's TV when I got into bed. That means the walls are thin'

'I know. I do know'

'Then you know that every time the baby cries, it gonna raise the suspicion of your neighbors. That not only puts the baby in danger, but also me and my sister, not to mention yourself, for letting us stay.'

Samantha stared at Abha. Nothing she had said was not anything she hadn't thought about. It was, however, something she was praying she wouldn't have to deal with.

'And what am I to do with her?', she was angry with Abha for raising this point, when she had already considered all the permutations, for relieving herself of the burden.

'Is there no family that would take her?'

'Lucy has a dad and a brother somewhere in London I think. But I can't get hold of either of them. The dad's number doesn't work and the brother......well for a start I'm not even sure they've spoken to each other, let alone met.'

Abha looked down at the baby, she was wiggling her way further into her arm pit.

'What about that other girl. The blond one. She has a baby, doesn't she?'

'You mean Christine'

'Yes, Christine'

'Yeah, she does......I was hoping that she would look after her, but her husband's not having any of it.'

Abha raised her eyebrows, dismissing her statement, as though she figured Christine was using her husband as an excuse.

'Well, I guess you better hope none of your neighbors are racist'

Samantha looked at her, seeing her as a dark skinned Hindu, not Gulab's sister. Is this what all this violence was about, she wondered. Racism? Surely, it was about poverty and the stifling economy. Sure, it took on some racist connotations, but she knew many people who were against the continuing influx of foreigners to the country. In some way she was one, she even recalled talking to Christine and Lucy about it, both of them agreed that something had to be done to stop any more immigration. Although, at the time she discussed it, it never occurred to her that her words may have been targeting three of her best friends. She assumed it hadn't occurred to Lucy either.

'I could try Lucy's brother again, maybe he can get hold of her dad. Not that I think that's going to make any difference', she picked up her mobile phone. Abha leaned over to her, to enable her to be privy to the conversation that would ensue.

The phone rang twice, then went dead.

'Try again. That didn't sound right'

Samantha dialed again. Again it rang. Three times and then went dead.

'I don't think he wants to speak to you'

'He probably doesn't know who it is'

'That's true. If I didn't recognize the number ringing me, I'd be less likely to answer', Abha said thoughtfully. 'Keep trying, he'll either switch his phone off completely or he'll answer'.